Fifty-three speakers, most of them in favor of a limit on housing density, overwhelmed the City Council Monday night imploring the governing body to reduce the allowable amount of residential apartments in the Beach-Edinger Corridor Specific Plan. After 10 straw votes, and one dramatic vote shift, the City Council decided to reduce the number of apartments in the plan from 4,500 to 2,100.

Councilman Dave Sullivan, who was in favor of dropping the number of apartments to 1,900, changed his vote after about three hours of public comments. Sullivan’s shift broke the 3-3 tie and allowed the 2,100 figure to stand. Two council members — Barbara Delgleize and Mike Posey — had voted to allow 3,100 new housing units. Council member Billy O’Connell abstained.

When the straw votes and the final vote was finished, cheers went up in the overflow crowd.

“I was totally opposed to the plan,” Sullivan said over the cheers. “It was built on faults.”

He didn’t mean earthquake faults, but he could have. The plan has had a seismic impact on the city. New construction has been viewed as too close to the street, too tall, too densely populated and — in total — too overwhelming for what many people called Huntington Beach: “Mayberry by the sea” (a reference to the black and white and quaint television hit “The Andy Griffith Show.”)

The council also voted to require 15-foot setbacks for single story commercial buildings on primary streets (and 10 feet on secondary streets). The council chose to require two parking spaces to be built for every studio/one bedroom apartment. And the council allowed the concept of “tandem parking,” which means a parking space could be used by a commercial business during business hours, and then by a resident overnight.

But the 2,100 limit on housing was the big victory for Monday night’s speakers.

“We want to reclaim our town,” said resident Lilli Wells. “ We want to keep the culture and flavor of our community.”

Carol Woodworth echoed those thoughts.

“The population is projected to decline,” Woodworth said. “Why would you keep building high density housing in Huntington Beach.”

The council’s vote is significant because it will block most new development. The city has allowed 1,900 units to be built, so the 2,100 figure allows for just 200 more.

A few speakers wanted more density to bring more business opportunities to the city.

“Will the city of Huntington Beach be viewed as unfriendly to business? How could it not?” said Dianne Thompson, former president of the Chamber of Commerce.

Keith Sharon started at the OC Register in 1985. He's covered sports, education, cities, investigations and general assignment stories. He was one of the reporters on the 2005 Pulitzer finalist series "Toxic Treats." The Register has sent him to the Middle East (for a series on life on aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf), China (for the opening of Shanghai Disneyland), New Orleans (in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina) and San Francisco (for the World Series when the Angels beat the Giants). He has written two screenplays that have been made into films: ("Showtime" with Robert DeNiro and Eddie Murphy and "Finding Steve McQueen" with Forest Whitaker and Travis Fimmel). He lives in Trabuco Canyon with his wife Nancy, and three children -- Dylan, Alison and Trey.